The William Whitney House, also known as the Hallmark House, is a historic Late Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 & Italianate residence in Hinsdale

Hinsdale, Illinois

Hinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. William Whitney moved to Winfield

Winfield, Illinois

Winfield is an incorporated village located in Milton and Winfield Townships, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,718 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 9,984 in 2008....

 in 1858 and was elected DuPage County Circuit Clerk and Recorder two years later. During his term, he became involved in real estate, and plat

Plat

A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....

ted one of the first regioins of Downers Grove. He purchased a house in Hinsdale in 1867 which he sold at three times the price three years later. Now wealthy, he moved into a newly constructed house on First Street. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives

Illinois House of Representatives

The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...

 in 1870. During his term in the House, legislature was passed allowing for certificates of incorporation

Certificate of incorporation

A certificate of incorporation is a legal document relating to the formation of a company or corporation. It is a license to form a corporation issued by state government. Its precise meaning depends upon the legal system in which it is used, but the two primary meanings are:* In the U.S.A...

. Whitney immediately returned to his home town and gained the required signatures for a petition to incorporate Hinsdale, which was approved in 1873.

The house was constructed for the Stodder family in 1869 and purchased by Whitney a year later. Whitney lost a substantial sum of money in the Panic of 1873

Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...

, and was forced to sell his house in 1879 to cover overdue taxes. Eighteen families have owned the house since Whitney. The house was featured in a national television commercial for Hallmark Cards

Hallmark Cards

Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....

, earning the residence its nickname.